Psychologist with 20+ years of experience, Independent Educational Evaluator and Psychological Assessments

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By Danny Crum

Feb. 18, 2013
8:30 p.m.

Earlier this month Denise Marshall, Executive Director of COPAA/Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. sent me an email stating the following:

The U.S. Department of Education is about to issue final regulations substantially reducing parental consent requirements when the school district seeks to use public benefits or insurance (e.g., Medicaid) to pay for special education services. The regulations will be effective as of March 18. 2013.

The prior regulations required school districts to obtain parental consent to charge their insurance each time they wanted to charge the insurance, which was typically every time an eval, re-eval or IEP were written or presented. Under the new regulations, the school district only has to ask the first time but after that is free to charge families' insurance as they deem necessary.

COPAA has vehemently expressed their opposition to this new regulation because the new regulation weakens and reduces the rights of parents and their children. For example, children in foster care would be denied outside psychological evaluations intended to be used for purposes of reunifying the child with their natural family, all because the school district has "tapped" the family's insurance already. Another example is that by allowing the school district access to the child's insurance anytime they deemed appropriate, which the new regulations do, families will lose the ability to supplement the services their child may receive in school. So, in other words, families would not be able to get in home counselor, therapists, or outpatient therapy for themselves or their children because insurance policy limits would have already been reached by the school district dipping into the funds anytime they pleased.